A Sense of Security
by Kristen3
Summary: When a simple trip to the movies with Dr. Crane is ruined by a random mugging, Daphne is left shaken and terrified. Can Niles find a way to show her she has no reason to fear? Dedicated to Andrea (iloveromance), whose story inspired this! *hugs*
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**I'm dedicating this to the wonderful and extremely talented Andrea (**iloveromance**), since it was her story "The Trusting Soul" which helped plant the seed for this. It snowballed considerably, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! Thanks to Leigh Ann (**leighann415**) for reading drafts of this and also suggesting a title!

"Thanks so much for coming with me, Dr. Crane," Daphne said, as the lights in the theater came back on. Movie-goers were already beginning to exit.

"It was my pleasure, Daphne. I don't think I realized how much I needed this. I'm used to challenging foreign films, but it seems a romantic comedy is exactly what I needed to get my mind off my troubled marriage."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Crane is treating you so badly." She squeezed his hand as they exited the theater.

"I'm used to it by now," Niles replied, with an embarrassed shrug. They were both quiet for a moment. "Well, I suppose we should go home now, unless there's something else you'd like to do." He hoped she would want to do something. Anything. He could never get tired of spending time with her.

"No, I know you're busy, so I won't take up any more of your time. Thank you again. I had a lovely time." She hugged him quickly. By now, they were back outside. It was much darker than when they'd gone into the movies.

Niles was just about to say his goodbyes, but before he could, a man marched right up to them. He was stunned to notice he had a gun in his hand, pointed right at them. "Give me all your money."

Daphne turned to Dr. Crane, suddenly frightened. She'd never seen a gun this close-up before. She tried to remember everything she'd learned about self-defense, but her mind was a blank.

Trying desperately not to show his fear, Niles reached into his wallet and removed a wad of cash. "Is this enough?" he asked. Perhaps the thief would just take the money and run. Better that than losing all of his credit cards and ID.

Desperate, the man nodded, taking the bills Niles offered. He was gone a moment later, having disappeared into a crowd.

"Oh, my God. What do we do?" Daphne asked.

Instinctively, Niles pulled her close, rubbing her back to calm her. "First, we go home to Dad. We'll tell him what happened, and he'll call his buddies. Don't worry, Daphne. You're safe now."

Daphne was grateful he was there. Her fear began to subside as she saw him staying calm. Of course Mr. Crane would make sure the police knew about this, and that they made it their top priority. Sometimes it really was handy to know someone on the Seattle police force.

A few minutes later, Niles and Daphne were seated in Frasier's living room. "So, that's what happened," Niles said, after relating the story to his father.

"And you couldn't see where he went after you gave him the money?" Martin asked.

"There was a big crowd, and we lost him," Daphne replied. "I still can't believe it happened. I know I should've said something, tried to fight back, but I just couldn't."

Martin stood up from his green chair, walking over to where Daphne sat on the couch. "No, Daph, you two did exactly the right thing. If a guy's got a gun pointed at you, you do what he says. Let the cops worry about catching him."

Daphne gave him a small, grateful smile. She knew he meant well, but the experience had left her shaken. "I think I'm going to bed now. I don't know how I'll ever get to sleep." She stood up.

Niles considered following her, but thought better of it. Right now, the best thing to do was give her space. "I think I'll get going too," he finally said to his father. "Let Daphne sleep. If anything happens with the police, give me a call, OK?"

Martin nodded at his son as he walked over to the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Daphne awoke. She smiled, remembering what a lovely time she'd had at the movies last night. But her good mood was quickly erased when she remembered what happened after the movie ended. Suddenly, she felt the need to look around, make sure that no one was watching her. She knew it was silly. The man had no way of knowing where she lived. But even so, her sense of safety wasn't as secure as it had been yesterday. Slowly, she got up and walked out the kitchen. No matter how she was feeling, she knew she had responsibilities.

When she reached the living room, she was surprised to find Mr. Crane seated at the breakfast table, waiting for her. She gave him a small smile as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Great news, Daph," Martin greeted her. "Some of my buddies think they caught that guy who robbed you guys last night. They want you to come down to the station to ID him. They said when they caught him, he had a bunch of credit cards and drivers licenses on him. Seems he must've been doing this for awhile."

"Oh," was all Daphne could say. She knew she should feel relieved that the man was now in custody, but the idea of facing him again terrified her.

Martin sensed that she was afraid. "By the way, I'm real proud of you and Niles. You guys didn't try to do anything crazy, and you came right back here to report it. And, because of you, somebody else won't have to go through this."

Daphne knew his words were meant to encourage her, but her fear wouldn't go away. She'd barely gotten any sleep last night. She couldn't stop reliving the attack, until sheer exhaustion forced her to finally drift off. Now she wanted to put the whole experience behind her, if that was even possible. Before she could tell Mr. Crane this, she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"That's probably Niles," Martin said. "He's coming to the station with us. He's got to identify the perp, too."

Without a word, Daphne crossed the room to answer the door. This was a part of her job, something she did automatically now. She opened the door, and sure enough, there stood the younger Dr. Crane. An unexpected wave of relief hit Daphne at the sight of him. She hugged him tightly.

Niles didn't know what to do as Daphne clung to him. It was obvious she was still traumatized from last night's events. Niles enjoyed the feeling of holding her, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's going to be all right," he whispered. He gently kissed her cheek. It was a gesture of comfort, not a romantic kiss. But still, Niles hoped she would sense how much he cared.

Gradually, Daphne realized she had to let go. But she felt safe in Dr. Crane's arms. It was the only thing that made her even remotely feel that she could face the man who'd mugged them the previous night.


	3. Chapter 3

The ride to the station was quiet. No one knew what to say, and even small talk didn't feel right at the moment. Niles wanted so much to comfort Daphne in some way, but she wouldn't even look at him. They entered the police station, and Martin eagerly greeted some of his friends.

"Hey, Marty. Glad to see you. Too bad it took something like this to get you down here, though," one of the offers said.

Martin nodded. "Yeah. I'd love to catch up with you guys some other time, but I really think it's best if we get this line-up over with." He looked over at Daphne and saw that she was definitely not liking being in the same building with the man who'd attacked her.

"Sure. Right this way." The cops led them to a door. Daphne could see a two-way mirror in the room. She'd watched enough cop shows on TV to know how this worked. Behind that glass, a line of men would stand, and she and Dr. Crane would have to identify which of the men had pulled a gun on them the previous night. She swallowed nervously thinking about it.

Niles saw that Daphne seemed to be growing more fearful by the second. He reached out to hold her hand. To his surprise, she didn't pull away. He wasn't even sure if she'd noticed.

"Well, I guess we're ready to get started," the cop was saying. He nodded to two men in suits. One was the district attorney, and the other was the suspect's lawyer. Both would be present for the line-up, to make sure everything was fair.

"We have to go inside now," Niles gently said to Daphne. She was still staring into space. It was clear this wasn't easy for her.

"You can't go in with her," the defense attorney said to Niles. "You were a witness, too, so you can't influence her."

"Oh," Niles replied, embarrassed that he hadn't thought of that. "All right." He turned to Daphne. "You'll be fine. The men won't be able to see you on the other side of that glass. And I'll be right here waiting for you."

Daphne accepted his embrace. Once again, she knew she'd never be able to get through this without him. When Dr. Crane let her go, she wordlessly stepped forward.

"You'll be fine, Daph," Martin said as she walked by.

The next thing Daphne knew, she was inside the room, with only a police officer and the two attorneys beside her. In front of her, five men lined up. At first, they all looked like strangers. But she took a second look, and one pair of eyes made her heart stop. She knew without a doubt it was the same pair she'd seen last night, as he'd threatened her and Dr. Crane. "It's that one," she said pointing. "I'm sure of it."

The officer nodded at her, and she left the room. It had been far easier than she'd thought. When she went back out into the lobby, Dr. Crane once again hugged her. Then it was his turn to identify the man. He likewise had no trouble picking out the criminal.

The two attorneys walked out with Niles. "Well, looks like I've got a pretty open-and-shut case," the district attorney said. The public defender did not look happy.

"You guys did great," Martin said to Niles and Daphne. He really couldn't be prouder of them. He knew this wasn't an easy thing to do, but they did it, and now this man would hopefully be behind bars for a long time.

Niles looked in Daphne's eyes. She still hadn't recovered from seeing her attacker a second time. "Um, Dad, why don't you go catch up with your buddies a minute?"

One of the cops put a hand on Martin's shoulder. "Yeah. We've got a couple rookies here who haven't heard about how you went to buy a slushie and wound up with a bullet in your hip!"

Martin understood what Niles was going to do. He gave his son a silent nod, wishing him luck. Then he followed his fellow officers over to another corner of the room.

When he was sure his father was out of earshot, Niles once again hugged Daphne. "You see? I told you could do this."

Daphne nodded. She knew she should feel victorious. After all, the man had been found, and there might not even be a trial. But she felt that something had changed in her life, and she'd never be the same.

"Oh, Daphne," Niles said. Her expression broke his heart. "I hate to see you hurting like this. Being mugged is always hard. This would've been easier if it had happened to me, instead of you being involved. I lost some money, but that isn't a big deal. What upsets me more is knowing that a person I care about is hurting. I would do anything to ensure that your life was free of all fear or pain. But I can't do that. All I can do is tell you that, whatever happens, you won't have to face anything alone."

Daphne couldn't believe what she was hearing. This experience had left her numb. But Dr. Crane's words had touched her heart. He'd already gotten her though the most difficult thing she'd ever gone through, and now he offered her a future. She tried to think of something to say, but she was overwhelmed, and no words came. Instead, she merely leaned forward and kissed him. It was a slow, lingering kiss which grew as Daphne realized her feelings. The mugging had left her with a constant fear, once which she thought she would never shake. But suddenly, she knew she'd found a place where she felt safe. Yes, she would certainly move on from this.

**The End**


End file.
